Powertac Warrior LT G5

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Powertac Warrior LT G5 specifications

Brand & Model	Powertac Warrior LT G5 (Gen 5)
Flashlight category	Tactical
LED	Luminus SST70
Max. output	3,050 lumens
Max. beam distance	480 meters
Max. beam intensity	57,600 cd
Battery config.	1x 18650 / 2x CR123A
Onboard charging	Yes
Main modes	5
Blinkies	Strobe
Waterproof	IPX8
Review publication date	March 2024

It had been a few years since I had the pleasure of reviewing a Powertac flashlight. Part of that could be that they don’t necessarily focus on the enthusiast crowd. Powertac definitely seems to cater to more of a duty / police / first responder kind of market. And that’s just fine! Realistically, those people need a flashlight that can perform, not just have a bunch of flash features or outrageous claims.

Then, out of the blue, I got the pleasure of reviewing the monstrous Powertac Dreadnought – a big boy lumen monster with a powerful LEP in the middle. In the same box, Powertac included a more down-to-earth duty flashlight, the Warrior LT G5. The LT series consists of their “long throw” models that are, like most of their other lights, geared towards police, law enforcement, and security professionals. I don’t claim to be any of those things, but the Warrior LT G5 is an interesting offering nonetheless.

To get started with the Powertac Warrior LT G5, you’ll need to unscrew the tailcap and remove the isolation disc that you’ll find there.

What’s in the package

The Powertac Warrior LT G5 arrived in a nice box that is covered in pictures, details, and specs on every side. This box is something that would be right at home on a store shelf. Inside the box, the Warrior was nestled inside a dense foam cutout. The larger accessories were in a smaller interior box, while smaller accessories like o-rings and literature were in a little envelope. The entire contents were:

• Powertac Warrior LT G5
• Powertac 18650 battery
• Holster
• Magnetic charging cable
• Lanyard strap
• Spare o-rings
• Replacement charging port cover
• Small and large split rings (keyrings)
• Stickers
• Literature/manual

Like most Powertac products, the Warrior LT G5 is designed for police, law enforcement, and security professionals. While this is sometimes considered “tactical” use, I think there is a bit of a distinction, especially when it comes to the UI. I am not a tactical expert, it seems to be important that you have easy and predictable controls – typically with direct access to Turbo and Strobe. The Warrior has some of that – instant access to Strobe, but not to Turbo… it uses mode memory instead. That makes me think of the Warrior as more of a “duty” light and less of a tactical flashlight. The box doesn’t actually have the word “tactical” anywhere, and that’s a relief. But the website, on the other hand, has it all over the place.

The Powertac Warrior LT G5 seems to be very rugged and sturdy. It is coated in HA Type III anodizing. The heatsink fins are chunky and the knurling (found on the head, body tube, and tail cap) is very grippy. There’s a grip ring that comes preinstalled. You can remove the grip ring, if desired, but that leaves a few threads exposed. The pocket clip is thick and has a heavy spring action. While the spring does clip on (and off), the clip portion of it is covered by the grip ring, preventing it from coming off under pressure.

Powertac also includes a 1-piece plastic (yet sturdy) holster for the Warrior LT G5. The holster does a good job of gripping the flashlight and keeping it in place. It is open on the bottom, which I suppose could be handy if you had a reason to use the flashlight without being able to draw it from the holster. And in a more practical sense, it’ll be easy to tell if you accidentally turn the Warrior on while it’s in the holster. While not included, the Warrior LT G5 is also compatible with several Powertac accessories including the red/green/blue lens covers, Picatinny rifle mount, and remote pressure switch.

Like many tactical/duty flashlights, the Warrior LT G5 has dual tail switches. It’s a bit different, though, because the end of the tailcap only has one switch – a forward-clicky for on/off purposes. On the side of the tailcap is a small e-switched that is covered by a rubber button. This provides mode switching and instant access to Strobe (from Off).

Warranty:

• In short, Powertac products are covered by a no-hassle lifetime warranty. But in their words…
• “Powertac warranties our illumination tools to be free from defects in workmanship and materials, including any leds housed within, for life. If it is determined by us to be defective, we will repair or replace your original purchase of these products, at our discretion.”

The LT in “Warrior LT” stands for Long Throw. And I guess that’s accurate, depending on what your definition of “long” is. The specs boast 57,600cd, which isn’t anything too crazy. Does it throw more than a lot of tube lights? Sure. The Warrior LT G5 uses a Luminus SST70, a domed 6V or 12V LED. Domed LEDs generally aren’t known for their throw capabilities. If Powertac really wanted this to throw further, the SFT70 would have been a direct replacement (though it may require reflector adjustments to avoid a donut hole in the beam).

The business end of the flashlight has a highly crenulated bezel that is reportedly good for self-defense. I hope to never find out, but it sure does look like it would hurt. It might also make a decent glass breaker (say for a car window in case of emergency aquatic exits). You can take off the crenulated bezel and still use the flashlight just fine, but it leaves exposed threads.

The smooth reflector is covered by a glass lens that has an anti-reflective coating. This smooth reflector and SST70 don’t seem to be a perfect combination, as it results in an obvious green center in the middle of the hotspot. It doesn’t look great indoors, but out and about in actual use, it’s nothing to worry about. And this is a duty flashlight that we’re talking about, not some Gucci flashlight where you might be concerned with just the right CCT, CRI, and DUV.

Spectral measurements: 

I used the Opple Light Master to measure the flashlight at 5 meters distance. 

Mode:	CCT:	CRI Ra:	duv
Turbo	6136 K	67.4	+0.0080

Dimensions: 

Powertac Warrior LT G5	Millimeters	Inches
Length	152 mm	6.0 in
Head diameter	37 mm	1.4 in
Body diameter	25 mm	1.0 in

Dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter and the nearest tenth of an Inch.

Weight: 

Powertac Warrior LT G5	Weight in grams	Weight in oz
Without battery:	154 g	5.4 oz
With battery	201 g	7.1 oz

Weight is rounded to the nearest gram and tenth of an Oz.

Flashlight size comparison with its competition:

Group 1: Olight Baton 3 Pro Max, Powertac Warrior LT G5, Acebeam E75

Group 2: Nitecore EDC33, Powertac Warrior LT G5, Nitecore P20iX

The Powertac Warrior LT G5 uses a very simple dual-switch UI. The rear-facing forward-clicky is for on/off/momentary activation, while the side switch is used for mode switching and instant strobe.

Available modes: 

• Firefly, Low, Medium, High, Turbo

Available blinky modes:

• Strobe

From OFF:

• Back switch, Press and hold: momentary on
• Back switch, Single click: turn on
• Side switch, Press and hold: instant strobe (while holding the button)

From ON:

• Back switch, 1 click: turn off
• Side switch, Press and hold 0.3 sec: strobe (stays on)
• Side switch, 1 click: change modes

Mode memory:

• All modes, even strobe, can be memorized

Shortcuts:

• To Strobe:
  • Hold side switch from Off (momentary strobe)
  • Long press side switch from On (constant strobe)

Low voltage warning/protection:

• On the head of the light, opposite the charging port, is an indicator LED:
  • 30% battery remaining, the LED will light up red
  • 10% battery remaining, the LED will flash red

Strobe/blinkies

• Strobe:
  • Hold side switch from Off (momentary strobe)
  • Long press side switch from On (constant strobe)

Lock-out mode: 

• None (besides physical lockout by unscrewing the tailcap ¼ turn)

PWM

• None detected

Additional/summary info on the UI: 

• Like I mentioned in the opening, this is an ok duty or self-defense UI, but I wouldn’t really call it a tactical UI since there isn’t direct access to Turbo
• For flashlights that try to straddle the Tactical and EDC realms, I’d love to see more of them adopt the “choose your UI” functionality that some flashlights provide (certain Nitecore, Streamlight, etc). That way if you want an EDC light with direct access to Firefly and mode memory, you can choose that. Want direct access to Strobe and Turbo? Flip over to the Tactical UI. That way a manufacturer can produce a single flashlight and target both segments. I’d love to see Powertac adopt this functionality.

A button-top, protected 18650 battery came with the Warrior LT G5. This Powertac-branded cell has a 3200mAh capacity and is rated for a 11A max continuous discharge. With there being springs at both the head and tail, the Warrior seems to be pretty accommodating with various batteries, and had no problem with a flat-top Samsung 30Q. I could even bump the tail pretty aggressively without and apparent loss of power.

Powertac says that you can also use 2x CR123A batteries, which is nice to have that capability. Do not, however, use rechargeable RCR123A or 16340 batteries. Note, it looks like Turbo mode cannot be used with CR123 batteries, and runtimes are much shorter. So I’d recommend using a lithium-ion cell, and only relying on CR123’s in a pinch.

The Powertac Warrior LT G5 uses a magnetic charging cable, just like their E5R-G4 that I reviewed a couple years ago. Magnetic charging can be nice and easy, but nothing (in my opinion) beats having USB-C charging, since there are cables everywhere for that. The Warrior LT G5 has a trick up its sleeve: the magnetic charging port is actually just a plug with a rubber surround. You can remove that plug as needed and just use a USB-C cord if you prefer. The best of both worlds!

Charge type	Fits	No fit	Charge time
Flashlight with onboard USB-C and magnetic charging	All 18650 sizes, 2x CR123A	RCR123A and 16340	4h 4min

Lumen measurements

How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards: The ANSI FL1 standards specify that output in lumens should be measured 30 seconds after turning on, as this is the standardized time for measuring brightness according to the industry standard. This is why we focus on this part in our measurements. The ANSI FL1 standards require an ambient temperature of 22 ± 3°C. We record the ambient the ambient temperature to identify potential reasons for any observed discrepancies.

Lux was measured by a UNI-T UT383 BT at 5 meters. Lumens were measured in a homemade lumen tube using a VEML7700 sensor, calibrated with a calibration light provided by 1Lumen. The included 18650 battery was used in the tests.

Mode	Specified	Turn on	30 sec.	10 min.
Moon	0.82 lm	0.7	0.7	–
Low	130 lm	111	111	–
Med	410 lm	479	477	468
High	1,568 lm	1,816	1,780	1,610
Turbo	3,050 lm	2,651	2,517	924
Turbo with 30Q	3,050 lm	3,195	3,024	–
Turbo at 3.6V	–	2,456	2,298	–

Ambient temperature during testing:

• 20 °C 

Parasitic drain:

• Couldn’t test due to dual-tube design 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t attain the output numbers that Powertac provided in the spec sheet. It came up about 20% short. That shocked me a bit, so I retested it and got the same numbers. I wasn’t satisfied with that result, so I charged up a non-protected Samsung 30Q battery and made some more measurements. That 30Q yielded much better results! My lumen measurements with that were right inline with spec. So… the battery that the Warrior LT G5 ships with seems to hold it back from hitting Powertac’s claims. I’m honestly, I don’t think that’s a huge surprise – the battery has a protection circuit, and those protection circuits are known for limiting the maximum current. Can the Warrior live up to its lumen claims? Yes, just not with the battery that it ships with.

As far as the other modes go, there’s no real surprises. They all perform admirably.

Powertac Warrior LT G5 Battery Life: Runtime graphs

How Runtimes are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About ANSI FL1 runtime standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Mode	Specified	Runtime (ANSI FL1)	Time till shut off
Moon	24 days	–	–
Low	14h 24min	–	–
Med	4h 12min	4h 6min	4h 6min
High	1h 21min	1h 33min	1h 33min
Turbo	1h 12min	1h 34min	1h 34min

I’m happy to report that all of the measurements (using the Powertac battery) line up nicely with their claims.

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

About Peak beam intensity: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About peak beam intensity The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). This means that the intensity has decreased so much, it becomes difficult to see darker objects, or objects that don’t reflect light. The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Intensity was measured at 5 meters after being turned on for 30 seconds. A UNI-T UT383 BT lux meter was used.

Mode	Specified	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Low	–	2,025	90 m	98 yd
Medium	–	6,450	161 m	176 yd
High	–	24,475	313 m	342 yd
Turbo	57,600cd	37,125 cd	385 m	421 yd
Turbo with 30Q	–	47,925	438 m	479 yd

Ambient temperature:

• 20 °C 

Like with the lumen numbers, the included Powertac protected battery fell way short of the intensity claim. When I threw in a Samsung 30Q, I got a lot closer to spec, but still a ways off.

Camera settings and distance: Beam shots of the building are taken at 30 m (33 yd) using a Canon EOS R100 with a lens set to 18mm. Manual settings: ISO 800, 1/4sec, F4.5, 5000K.

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

• Powertac Warrior LT G5
• Olight Baton 3 Pro Max
• Nitecore EDC33 (Search mode)

Please note that the following beamshots are mainly intended to showcase the beam pattern and beam quality, rather than overall performance. These images are typically taken directly after activation, and in different seasons or weather conditions, and therefore do not fully represent its overall performance. For accurate performance metrics, such as output, beam distance, and runtimes, you need to look at the performance section of this review.

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to us for review at no cost by Powertac. We have not been paid to review, nor have we been holding back on problems or defects.